MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The Bethel Lady Wildcats dropped to 0-2 on the season with a 70-62 loss to Philander Smith on day two of the Lady Wildcat Tip-off Classic Saturday.
The Cats trailed 18-7 at the end of the first quarter and 33-28 at the half. The deficit was ten at 54-44 at the end of three. Trailing 63-48 with 7:23 left in the fourth, the Lady Wildcats scored eight straight points and pulled to within 63-56. The Panthers withstood the Bethel rally and eventually won by eight.
Philander Smith had a 21-5 advantage in bench points and outrebounded Bethel 30-26. Both squads hit eight three-pointers, but the Panthers had six more made field goals in the game.
Bethel had 18 turnovers with Philander Smith holding a 20-11 advantage in points off turnovers.
Freshman Kylie Reynolds led Bethel with 19 points. Madison Hart followed with 18 tallies. Kalynn Howard had 11 points.
Four Panther players finished in double figures with Dasia Turner leading Philander Smith with 14 points.
Coach Chris Nelon shared his thoughts, "We had some good play at times but consistent play on both ends of the court continues to be an issue. We have to figure that out and we feel confident we will."
The Lady Cats return to play Thursday and Friday in the Chamber of Commerce Classic. Teams participating in the Classic include Bethel, Fisk University, Bluefield and Campbellsville University. Bethel plays Fisk Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Bluefield Friday at 2 p.m.
Watch for an upcoming preview of the Classic later at www.bethelathletics.com/
